Carinderia ni Tandang Sora Now in Karama Dubai

There are many new Filipino restaurants now in Dubai with brands originating from the Philippines and there are many are others that are home grown too, owned by Pinoys working and living in Dubai for many years who have the guts to venture into food business. One of it is the humble eatery named after a Filipina revolutionary Mechora Aquino also know as Tandang Sora (Elder Sora) hence the name of the eatery Carinderia ni Tandang Sora.

A little info about Tandang Sora: In her native town, Tandang Sora operated a store which became a refuge for the sick and wounded revolutionaries. She fed, gave medical attention to and encouraged the revolutionaries with motherly advice and prayers. Secret meetings of the Katipuneros (revolutionaries) were also held at her house. Thus she earned the names "Woman of Revolution", "Mother of Balintawak", "Mother of the Philippine Revolution", and Tandang Sora (Tandang is derived from the Tagalog word matandâ, which means old).We tried to dine at Carinderia ni Tandang Sora in Deira before but there were hardly any tables available and the kids were hungry so we have no choice but to go to the restaurant next to it. When I received the invitation to check out their new and bigger branch in Karama, I confirmed right away. We wanted to try it in the longest time but only had the chance now. We heard from friends that some of the dishes at the Deira branch was either a hit or miss but we gave the new branch the benefit of the doubt thinking that maybe the first branch was swamped by too many diners and the kitchen was suffering hence the negative feedback on the reviews in their FB page.

Carinderia ni Tandang Sora depicts patriotism to Philippines history, food and culture. The staff uniform resembles the clothes of Katipuneros and the walls were lined with pictures of great Filipino heroes and short facts about them. The theme is also evident in the menu with many Filipino food items written in Filipino mixed with English names that has no Tagalog counterpart.

Our lunch started with Sinampalukang Manok (chicken in sour broth made sour by young tamarind leaves). It was served steaming hot in a large silver pot. It was good except that it was quite salty for my liking, (again you guys know me already, anything too salty is a goner in my list) the fish sauce in it was poignant but nonetheless it made our lunch a good start.

The sinampalukang manok comes with our boodle fight order called Tropang Mindanao.

This is Tropang Mindanao worth AED 200. Not bad for a group of 5 if you are to split the bill.

It was a complete package, loaded with our comfort food. It includes fresh fish kinilaw for appetizer, grilled prawns, grilled beef ribs which was a favorite as it was tender and flavorful, another favorite was the grilled squid, it was tender and no fishy aftertaste, then there's chicken inasal and pancit mix and loads of garlicky rice.

We also ordered sizzling beef sisig which was a winner.

For the drinks, we go for sago't gulaman and boy the jug is huge, you wouldn't need to ask for a refill.

Carinderia ni Tandang Sora gave us three complimentary dishes to try. Beef Kare-Kare which we hardly touched because we already had too much food, pancit mix went to our take away bag too since the boodle platter includes pancit mix and Crispy Beef which was crispy, tender and delicious.

Are we coming back? Yes we will, but most probably we will go to the Deira branch, hopefully it is not as packed with people like the last time we were there.

Have you eaten at Carinderia ni Tandang Sora in Karama? What was your verdict?

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About Me

Carla is a lifestyle blogger based in Dubai who's thankful to call this ever-evolving city her second home. The pages of this blog are filled with stories about her and her family's expat life in the sandpit. It mostly features dining and travel adventures in and around the city and beyond. It also features food recipes, parenting tips, and her own fashion style.